Paragon open beta goes live on PS4 and PC, [ TRAILER ]

‘Paragon’ enters the multiplayer online battle arena game market with a fresh take on the genre. Image Source: Comic Coverage

Open beta testing for the MOBA game ‘Paragon’ has begun in both PlayStation 4 and PC. The latest release by Epic Games is available for free download at the PlayStation Store and Epic’s official site.

The open beta launch follows its official announcement back in June. While ‘Paragon’ is pretty much a full-fledged game at this point, it is still under development by Epic. Early access to the game first went live in March for $20 to digital players on both platforms, followed by a physical copy for PS4 titled ‘Paragon: Essentials Edition’ up for sale at retail stores.

Epic Games updates ‘Paragon’ every week and it introduces a new hero every three weeks during this development stage. There is still no official word on when the game will be fully ready, but in the meantime, all players can access the raw version by downloading the open beta.

‘Paragon’ gameplay combines MOBA and TPS features in an epic game

‘Paragon’ enters the multiplayer online battle arena game market with a fresh take on the genre. Epic Games offers an ever-expanding roster of characters known as heroes, each with different attributes. ‘Paragon’ players have full access to the 21 heroes currently available and have to choose wisely which one to bring to the party.

Similar to other MOBAs like ‘League of Legends’, ‘SMITE’, and ‘DoTA2’, the latest title by Epic is based on strategy and ‘capture the flag’ mechanics. Each match of ‘Paragon’ pits two teams of five players against each other in a particular map. The objective is simple: to destroy the opposite team’s base core.

While maps’ settings are different, they all share some standard features: each team of five has its base at one of the ends of the map and must reach the opposite end to destroy the core base by navigating through three different lanes. Defense towers guard the roads and jungles in which players can temporarily hide or find items surround the battle arena as well.

‘Paragon’ introduces different in-game elements to the MOBA genre, shifting from the traditional top-down view during the match to an arena-level perspective seen traditionally in shooting games. This third-person shooter aspect of the game is inspired on Epic’s signature saga ‘Gears of War’.

Epic Games wants in on the MOBA market

The North Carolina-based game developers want to pierce the MOBA market with an innovative yet familiar title. ‘Paragon’ introduces new features like perspective and shooting elements to the genre, with in-battle abilities determined by decks of cards configurable in multiple ways.

‘Paragon’ is a worthy contender and a solid PS4 title, but in PC it competes against none other than two of the most-played games in the world. The ‘League of Legends’ and ‘DoTA2’ player base surpasses 20 million daily active users around the world.